


Time Decided to Mend Itself

by dulestric



Series: Minekoverse [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Crying, Flashbacks, Gen, Haikyuu ocs, Misunderstandings, Ok no more tags, Pregnancy, Seijoh - Freeform, aoba johsai, females!!!, friendships, girl friendships, her best friend is named netsui, her ex is named fusano, i put a lot of work into this for like no reason, lots of eye contact, net-chan~~~, oikawa's sister is named ishiyo, takeru is a twinkle in his mother's eye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:47:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27715651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dulestric/pseuds/dulestric
Summary: Netsui reminisces on old times with her best friend. Something as simple as misunderstandings were enough to drive them apart, but those days they missed together would catch up to them.
Relationships: Ishiyo Oikawa & Mineko Netsui
Series: Minekoverse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2027173





	Time Decided to Mend Itself

**Author's Note:**

> Okay before you read, this is a piece centered around Tooru Oikawa's older sister, Ishiyo Oikawa, and her best friend/childhood friend, Mineko Netsui, told in Mineko's perspective. Both of them are technically OCs, made by myself and my friend @bygraciechan on Twitter and Instagram. This takes place roughly 8-9 years before the high school events of Haikyuu, where both of them go to Aoba Johsai and are in their 3rd year in high school. Oh! Mineko plays volleyball for Aoba Johsai's girls' team (I just wanted to mention it :D) It _might _by a little weird reading because I refer to Ishiyo as Oikawa in this? BUT REGARDLESS! Please enjoy!__

It was already evening when Netsui opened the club-room door after changing from her sweaty volleyball practice clothes. Looking back, she waved to her _kouhai _still inside and told them to lock up whenever they finished, to which they responded with a nod and a wave back. She closed the door and started towards the school gates. January winters were no joke; the sudden chill reddened her cheeks in an instant and she had to exhale deeply to stop herself from shivering, watching her frosty breath dissipate into thin air. The cold was refreshing though, emptying her mind after another three grueling hours of practice and a stressful day at school. Being a high-achieving third year nearing her graduation, of course, meant she had a lot on her plate: college, grades, final exams, volleyball, and of course having some sort of social life ( _to which she is currently lacking, not like she particularly cared at this point) _.____

_____ _

She sighed into her scarf, looking up at the setting sky; the orange seeped from the horizon, taking over the vibrant blue that revealed the scattered stars. A couple of clouds flicked the sky, reflecting the remains of the sun’s light. Something about it while walking down the road towards her home felt nostalgic. She glanced to her right out of habit, but quickly averted her eyes to her shoes. Definitely nostalgic.

_____ _

Maybe it was the fact that it had been roughly a month since she started walking home from practice with no person by her side to distract her, no detours along the way, or no one to talk about her day. She remembered her best friend waiting for her outside the gate of the school. Ever since Netsui started taking volleyball seriously in middle school, she always stayed a bit overtime during practice. Waiting for her seemed like a hassle, but her best friend one day her friend said, _"It's worth it waiting for you! Neither of us has to walk home alone." _Granted, Netsui liked it when they walked home together, so she never refuted after that. They'd always take a right at the second intersection where they'd stop by a convenience store and buy a snack or two to share along the way; a meat-bun if it was winter, a popsicle if summer (a milk bun regardless of season). They'd continue walking with each other's presence nearby, talking about their day or simply in silence, perhaps staying at the community park to stall for some time. By the time they arrived at their respective homes, it'd already be dark outside.__

_______ _ _ _

Recently though, Netsui would walk straight home, arriving while there's still that familiar orange from the horizon. She would be lying if she said she didn't miss those times. She didn't know when the distance between her and her best friend started to widen, let alone why. At first, Netsui thought she needed space, which she was more than willing to give to her. Her best friend had mentioned she wanted to spend more time with her boyfriend, When she insisted on talking again though, their conversations lasted no more than five minutes before her best friend would make an excuse to leave, usually to find her boyfriend. Eventually, interaction became scarce, the space never mended. Netsui realized she probably should have pried a bit more to get answers, but for some reason, she never did. Intervening felt... wrong.

_______ _ _ _

Netsui stopped in her tracks to pad the stray tears that dared to escape her eyes with her sleeve. It was almost pitiful how easy she cried at something that she had gotten over with—or at least _thought _she had gotten over. It was pitiful that she was crying at all, since she was never one to get worked up over anything. To the public, she was the studious model student who never let anything get to her, who prioritized her club and her studies above everything else. But that was it; just a model student. Rarely did anyone see her in any other light than that, aside from a handful of people. If anyone saw her right now, she bet no one would have recognized her. As her vision cleared, she took in her surroundings and found herself at that same intersection she was just reminiscing about. She couldn't tell if she was relieved or burdened that she was here in such a familiar place.__

_________ _ _ _ _ _

She took out her phone to check the time: _6:47. _She still had time before her typical arrival time. With the slightest bit of hesitation, she took that right turn towards the convenience store.__

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

And slammed right someone.

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"Ah, I am so sorry!" Said the person shorter than her, sporting a baby blue hoodie that was a size too big for them. They gripped Netsui by the arms to maintain their own balance. Netsui held onto their forearm. "I wasn't looking where I was going, and I couldn't—"

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Netsui was about to apologize before she registered those sunken brown eyes that reflected the sunset beautifully, yet abnormally red-rimmed and drained. Her own eyes blew open in shock when the realization hit. "Oikawa?"

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Hearing her name called familiarly, the person named Oikawa shoved the taller girl a bit too hard. She took a few steps back with one hand around her stomach and the other clutching tighter on the store bag she held. “Oh, Net-chan!" Oikawa nervously laughed. "This was... not how I expected to see you again.”

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Netsui’s eyebrows furrowed. “Quite.” She accidentally murmured harshly, resulting in the air around them becoming denser and uncomfortable. In an urge to escape, Oikawa attempted to speed walk past her in a cold sweat. Netsui didn't want to lose this opportunity to clear any misunderstandings between them. This was her chance. She huffed and grabbed Oikawa's shoulder, pressing her thumb to the bone, wrinkling the girl's hoodie and causing her to wince. "Wait." Oikawa gulped. 

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Silence. Oikawa didn’t dare to make eye contact with her, which only made Netsui’s grip on her shoulder tighten. It had been a while since she saw Oikawa properly, aside for the brief glances in the hallways. Oikawa’s hair, which was normally straight and styled in some fashioned way at school was much longer and rather unkempt, which made it harder for Netsui to guess Oikawa's facial expression with her head turned away. Wanting to at least pry a response from her, She pushed Oikawa's shoulder so that her entire body turned towards her. Netsui placed her other hand on her shoulder for good measure. "Please tell me."

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“T-Tell you what...?”

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Tell me what has happened to you these past few weeks.” Netsui lightened her grip. “And then we don't have to talk about it again." 

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

More silence. Oikawa honestly didn't _want _to say anything because coincidentally, this sort of timing was awful, and cursed at herself for deciding to go out to buy milk bread today of all days. Something had been plaguing her mind for weeks, but she wanted to say her part _not _in this sort of situation where she looked like a rat's nest and barely has the mental fortitude to make coherent thoughts. She noticed that Netsui was becoming increasingly restless—she could feel her eyes drilling at her own. Oikawa scratched the back of her neck with a sigh.____

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Okay.” She finally said. “Let’s go to the park.”

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

There they sat on the fence railings surrounding the park—Oikawa sitting on top of it, Netsui simply leaning against it—that was a five-minute walk from their initial position. It was an awkward walk, one that didn’t give off the same nostalgia as Netsui originally imagined earlier. While Oikawa led the way, Netsui stared at Oikawa's back and noticed a couple of things about her.

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

One. She seemed much more tired than before (which was obvious from the moment she laid eyes on her). 

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Two. Did she gain weight? It was rude of her to assume, but her cheeks were much fuller than last time.

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Three. There was _a lot _of milk bread in the plastic bag she was holding. More so than any normal human being.__

________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Her assumptions kept leading back to Oikawa's boyfriend, since the moment Oikawa stopped talking to her, she and her boyfriend started hanging out more. It wasn't like he was a bad guy; if anything, out of all the boys Oikawa dated, he was the most acceptable and treated Oikawa right. However, Netsui couldn't forget her initial skepticism towards him. 

______________\----------_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“He’s might leave you, Oikawa.” _She said out of the blue during a lunch break.__

__________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Oikawa rested her chopsticks on top of her bento and huffed. _“Net-chan you don’t understand! How can you say that? You don’t know him like I do.” _Netsui stiffened at the outburst, keeping her mouth shut in fear of triggering her even more.__

____________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

She was right, though. Netsui didn’t know too much about him, other than the fact that he was in the same homeroom as Oikawa, which was next to her's. They've met a couple of times (thanks to Oikawa), but it wasn't enough for her to get a good enough impression of him as a person. Regardless of if she knew this guy or not, she knew Oikawa like the back of her hand. Multiple times throughout high school she had seen the same thing: Oikawa pining a guy, Oikawa getting the guy, Oikawa breaking up with the guy. What made this any different?

____________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Oikawa continued. _“I’ve known Fusa-kun since the beginning of high school and we’ve gotten really close these past few months. I’ve talked to you about him a couple of times right? He’s really nice and sweet, I'm sure if you talked to him more you'd see what I mean. And for god’s sake, it’s our 3rd year, Net-chan! I think we’re allowed to catch some slack.” _Netsui took notice of Oikawa's eyes, which were obnoxiously sparkly, more-so than any other time she talked about a guy. Instinctively, as her best friend, Netsui only wanted Oikawa's best interest in mind. She understood that having a love life held some sort of priority to Oikawa, but there were so many other things to prioritize as a 17-year old in their 3rd year of high school.__

______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

She sighed internally. If this conversation happened any earlier, Netsui wouldn’t have given their relationship her consent, but she decided to let it go this time. She wanted to trust that Oikawa can handle herself on her own, and if anything were to go wrong, she’d tell her. She'd still have to meet up with Fusano-kun, though. One, to get to know him, and two, to warn him of all of Oikawa's bad habits. 

______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Netsui scoffed sarcastically, standing up and dusting her skirt. _“Please be careful, then. Don’t do anything rash.” _From the corner of her eye, she saw Oikawa blink a couple of times before grinning.__

________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Thank you so much.” _She jumped on Netsui’s side, hugging her best friend as tightly as she could. _“Now enough about me... do you have anyone you’re crushing on, Net-chan~?” _____

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Netsui shoved her away and dashed off, Oikawa running after her with malicious intent.

_________________________\----------_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Netsui’s flashback was interrupted by a sudden breeze that sent a chill down her spine. In the few times she and Fusano talked, her impression of him slowly started to lighten up; he was genuinely a good guy and she believed he and Oikawa would be happy. 

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

But so much for that. And so much for trust. 

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

She was brought back to reality by the noise of Oikawa hitting the metal fence with her shoes. Truly, she didn’t expect her delay home to be because of something like this. She glanced at Oikawa, inclining her to speak.

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Ah, where do I start...?” Oikawa kept her eyes glued at a certain star up in the sky above them, the shimmer of it getting brighter as the night overcame the day. Oikawa herself had spent multiple times in this same position, looking at the same star, with at least someone by her side—Netsui, Fusano, Tooru—, but recently it has been just her. “Things were going good with me and Fusa-kun. You saw us right? We were like this!” She motioned her index and middle finger together like scissors with excitement in her voice. “We were happy, Net-chan. I've never felt joy like that with someone before.”

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Hearing Oikawa as love-struck as she was made Netsui stiffen. Her eyes drifted away from Oikawa and to her fiddly fingers that she didn’t know she was fiddling. She continued listening with a nod in confirmation.

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Over the past few weeks, I think...” Oikawa paused. “I think I may have rushed things. Got too caught up in the moment.” Her back arched forward, pressing her forehead into her hands, to cover her eyes. For a few moments, she didn’t elaborate on what exactly she got caught up in the moment, leaving the words up in the air for Netsui to ponder over.

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Before Netsui could spark the conversation again, Oikawa blurted out first.

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“I’m pregnant.”

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Netsui stopped breathing for a second. Processing what Oikawa said, she whipped her head to face her. Oikawa still had her head in her hands, but if Netsui squinted in the dark, she would have seen Oikawa’s ears a shade of pink. The pieces all fit together in Netsui's mind, and in a flurry of emotions, she tried to squeak a response with no avail. How could she follow up with something like that? All she could muster was a simple, "O-Oh." 

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Oikawa knew Netsui would react like that. Heck, almost everyone she told the news to reacted along the same line. Abruptly, she shot up straight and forced a grin at Netsui. “It’s alright, it's a lot to process, I know. I found out last month, so that's why I kind of... fell off the face of the Earth. I was trying to come to terms with it on my own, which I realized wasn't very ideal." Since they were in this situation right now because of it. "There were a whole lot of things I had to sort out, like telling the news to my parents, Fusa-kun, his parents, the school," Her speech started to speed up. "I swear I was going to tell you too but the timing was never right and before I knew it I—“

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

She was shut up by Netsui stepping in front of her, placing both of her hands on both sides of Oikawa, locking her in place. the loud clang startled Oikawa to the point where she nearly fell off (she hooked her feet to the rail to balance herself). Because of their height difference, had Oikawa been on ground level, Netsui would have towered over her, but sitting on the fence gave her extra height so that Netsui had to tilt her head a bit up in order to maintain eye contact.

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

With nowhere else to look to, Oikawa simply gazed into Netsui’s eyes, which had a certain glassiness, yet stern look. For some reason, she was lost in it. Oikawa had rarely seen that kind of expression on her best friend, and she regretted the fact that she was the one who caused it. “Net-chan...?”

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Netsui exhaled and leaned forward so that her head rested in the crook of Oikawa’s neck. It alarmed Oikawa, since Netsui was never one to initiated physical contact like hugs, but it broke the thickness in the air that surrounded them earlier when they first encountered each other. The night made the air around them colder, but in each other's presence—in each other's _warmth— _it didn't bother them at all. Oikawa could hear Netsui’s whisper against her ear. “I wish you told me sooner.”__

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

It made Oikawa’s heart drop. Netsui had always been Oikawa's emotional pillar; she was always there to guide her, always there by her side. She never knew a world where Netsui didn't exist, since she was bought into this world two days before Oikawa was. Yet here, at this moment, Netsui was in a state of vulnerability, something Oikawa isn't used to. To have neglected her best friend now felt like a crime. Even after Netsui had told her not to do anything rash, she let herself get stirred in the moment and caused the situation that has been the source of her stress for the past month. And in that stress she replayed the scenario of her telling the news to Netsui, thinking of every possible outcome and hoping their relationship wouldn't be tainted. By far, this was the worse possible outcome.

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Oikawa's breathing hitched. Slowly and delicately, she slipped her arms around Netsui’s neck, bringing her closer. She felt that if she squeezed any harder, she might break something. “I’m sorry.”

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

For a few moments, they stayed like that with nothing else to say.

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

That is, until Netsui jolted and pushed Oikawa back. Oikawa pouted, taking notice of the cold once the lack of warmth from Netsui was gone. “Aw, c’mon... we were having a moment—“

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“What about Fusano-kun?” Netsui said unexpectedly. 

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Oikawa stiffened. “Oh, yeah.” She pursed her lips. After all this, Netsui did deserve to know about the situation between her and Fusano. “When I told him I was pregnant, he was initially really happy. I thought with that, everything would be fine, but turns out, it was his parents that had a problem with it.” She slumped. “I guess they didn’t have the means to support me.”

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“And so he broke up with you?” Netsui assumed. 

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Oikawa shook her head. “It was me who broke up with him.”

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Netsui’s eyes widen.

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“The way that his family reacted, to both him and me, I don’t think I could live through all the looks and rumors, and I could tell it was even worse for Fusano. So to spare him and myself, I let him go.” Oikawa sadly smiled. “Last time I spoke to him, he said that once he’s sustainable and starts working, he’ll find a way to support me. He also said he’d like to be in my baby’s life, but to be honest, even though I appreciate the thought, I don’t know how long he’ll commit to that statement, so I’ve already planned to do this solo.” She fist pumped and smiled. 

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Oikawa’s unexpected rationality surprised Netsui; it certainly contrasted with the impulsiveness of her before. The sudden maturity of becoming a young, single mom must have started to hit her. “You think you’ll be okay?”

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“I’ll make it work. Plus! I got my best friend back! ...Wait I do have you back, right? I cleared everything up the best I could, I can elaborate some more if you want—”

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Netsui chuckled to interrupt her. “Believe it as you will.” And with that, Oikawa’s eyes lit up as she jumped down from the fence and tackled her into a less delicate hug than before. "Umm, is it alright for you to be doing this kind of hug?" She tried to wedge herself out of Oikawa's grasp, but only failed. 

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“This little guy has grit, he can take it, I’m sure.” Oikawa laughed into Netsui’s chest. She then pulled away, taking notice of the bag of milk bread that she had been holding on to for, God knows how long at this point. “I have to head home now, Tooru’s probably cranky without his share of milk bread.” 

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Despite saying she would leave, Oikawa showed no intention of leaving as she stayed planted in front of Netsui, her weight shifting from one foot to the next. Netsui tilted her head, asking if there was anything wrong.

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Do you,” Oikawa rubbed the back of her neck. “Want to come over to my house? I think everyone would be happy to see you again."

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

At Oikawa's request, Netsui rummaged through her bag to find her phone to check the time. _7:24. ___

_______________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“I can take a little detour.” She said with a smile.

_______________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! If you made it this far, thanks for reading! Yes, this is what I envisioned how Takeru (Ishiyo's future son and Tooru's future nephew) was conceived. Ishiyo gives birth to him when she's in college and is a single mom. I left the relationship between Ishiyo and Mineko as simply a friendship after this little bump they had in high school. I just think it's better to leave it like that, but I'm sure Mineko _definitely _helps her out taking care of Takeru when she gets the chance. Their relationship bears a lot of similarities of Tooru Oikawa and Hajime Iwaizumi, which was my intent lol.__
> 
> __If you're interested in seeing more from these characters, please say so! Any opportunity to talk about my children I WILL TAKE! I even have a whole folder including character sheets, because there are _more people in this little circle of friends _! (Hint hint: Coach Ukai and the rest of the Neighborhood Association Team are part of this group hehe)___ _
> 
> ____Anywaaaays! Writing is a side hussle, but if you want to talk to me or see my other art, once again I'm on Twitter @dulestric_! Peace!_ _ _ _


End file.
